Transcript Highlights:

• And when workers are misclassified...
• Those who are bending the rules in terms of worker classification.
• Those who are bending the rules in terms of worker classification.
• , by putting all of the burden of the risk onto the worker.
• None of that is up to the driver or the workers.

Bills: LB815A , LB838A , LB912A , LB972A , LB1126A , LB962A , LB1114 , LB921 , LB937 , LB803 , LB803A , LB1032 , LB1032A , LB1075 , LB1075A , LB889 , LB878 , LB933 , LB304 , LB304A , LB1096 , LB1096A , LB1165 , LB1165A , LB958 , LB958A , LB762 , LB1187 , LB966 , LB929 , LB962 , LB753 , LB788 , LB913 , LB1055 , LB1195 , LB429 , LB721 , LB722 , LB727 , LB743 , LB745 , LB749 , LB778 , LB787

Transcript Highlights:

• ><c> across</c><00:26:31.600><c> the</c> union construction workers across the union construction workers
• workers to Minnesota for short-term projects.
• workers to Minnesota for short-term projects.
• I think when town like mobile workers.
• </c><01:10:38.480><c> Thank</c> and the kinds of workers. Thanks. Thank and the kinds of workers.

Bills: HF2048 , HF2360 , HF2006 , HF950 , HF912 , HF3140 , HF2931

Committee: House Taxes

Keywords: individual income tax, retirement contributions, tax corrections, annuity contracts, tax year attribution, tax credit, economic development, community investment, data disclosure, Minnesota regulations, tax increment financing, municipal authority, job creation, transferred increment, public hearing, nonresident employees, income tax exemption, Minnesota taxation, employment duties, tax withholding

Transcript Highlights:

• Senator, what about workers that I terminated without cause and this legislation?
• I worry about how that is really limiting opportunities for workers.
• The workers never never war has it is type material or clothing.
• The attorney fee provisions are good for for workers.
• Chair look, sadly at this committee has not been a great day for Florida workers today.

Transcript Highlights:

• This is the bill that requires the Employment Security Department to notify a striking worker who applies
• for unemployment insurance benefits of the potential to receive an overpayment assessment if the worker
• Good bill, just it's the farm worker issue, which is, you know, when you pick cherries and the cherries
• Yeah, this is a good bill that is just a follow-up for the striking worker legislation that was passed
• This basically just notifies the striking worker that if they do collect unemployment benefits while

Summary: The Labor and Workplace Standards Committee met in executive session on February 25, 2026, to act on four bills. Staff briefed the committee on Second Substitute Senate Bill 5292 (PFML premium rate-setting would move from a statutory look-back formula to an actuarial approach and require a four-month reserve by 2030), Engrossed Senate Bill 6106 (a cleanup bill related to mass layoff and closure notices that also excludes tribes from the employer definition and protects worker information from public disclosure), Senate Bill 6134 (requiring notice to striking workers about possible unemployment overpayment liability if they later receive retroactive strike wages), and Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 6197 (changing plumbing credential suspension from three violations in six months to five violations in five years). Staff also clarified that L&I would count infractions from the prior five years for purposes of ESSB 6197. Members generally described the bills as negotiated or cleanup measures with broad support, though some concerns remained. On ESSB 6106, one member noted support for the bill but said the caucus would be mixed because of concerns about how the layoff notice requirement would apply to farmworkers whose work ends naturally with the season. On ESSB 6197, members said the bill reflected compromise between union and open-shop plumbing stakeholders and referenced L&I guidance supporting the five-year lookback. On SB 6134, members said the bill would help inform workers and improve overpayment processing. On 2SSB 5292, supporters said the actuarial approach and reserve requirement would strengthen PFML financing, while also acknowledging more work remains on the program. All four bills were moved out of committee with due-pass recommendations. Second Substitute Senate Bill 5292 passed 9-0, Engrossed Senate Bill 6106 passed 7-2, Senate Bill 6134 passed 9-0, and Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 6197 passed 9-0. The committee then adjourned after thanking staff for the session.

Transcript Highlights:

• workers' comp benefits.
• The board is a five-person board. workers comp benefits to teachers who up workers comp benefits to teachers
• </c><00:20:39.600><c> So,</c> never had workers comp benefits. So, never had workers comp benefits.
• </c> vendor um which in the in the workers vendor um which in the in the workers comp<00:21:30.400><c
• </c><00:22:09.919><c> comp</c> unique and different from workers comp unique and different from workers

Transcript Highlights:

• California cannot afford to lose ECE workers or disrupt children's early learning.
• Just some statistics: one in five early childhood education workers are immigrants.
• As office workers get ready to go home every night, my work day begins.
• , women construction workers that were just going through the union trades.
• They had construction workers, women construction workers that were just going through the union trades

Summary: The hearing focused first on how wildfires and other disasters affect child care providers, families, and early education infrastructure. State officials from the Department of Social Services and Department of Education described disaster response and preparedness efforts, including shelter coordination, licensing outreach, emergency waivers, distribution of supplies, and the statewide child care disaster plan. Testimony from providers and advocates emphasized major gaps in recovery funding, insurance coverage, rebuilding support, mental health services, and coordination with local rebuild plans. Several witnesses urged more dedicated disaster-recovery funding for child care facilities and suggested statutory changes, including allowing greater flexibility for rebuilding costs and requiring early childhood programs to be included in local disaster planning. The second panel addressed immigration enforcement and its impact on child care. Advocates from the Children's Partnership, Every Child California, and CHIRLA said enforcement activity is causing families to keep children home, disrupting continuity of care, reducing enrollment, and creating fear and trauma for children and providers. They argued that immigrant and mixed-status families need clearer protections, privacy safeguards, legal support, trauma-informed guidance, and safe-haven policies for child care settings. Speakers also stressed that the child care workforce is heavily immigrant and that recent state laws such as AB 49 and AB 495 will require funding, training, and technical assistance to implement effectively. Public commenters, including child care providers, described personal experiences with fire damage, displacement, permit delays, lost income, and the emotional toll of serving families during crises. Others described how immigration enforcement has made parents afraid to attend events, drop off children, or remain connected to providers. Committee members repeatedly noted that child care is often overlooked in emergencies and asked state officials how child care systems are being integrated into disaster planning and how local and state agencies can better coordinate. No formal votes were taken during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• But this also came to me at the request of the International Longshore and Warehouse Workers Union.
• That's why the workers and their families, represented by the ILWU, that live in the communities of San
• We have seen so-called innovation change how workers perform their jobs for hundreds of years.
• We have seen so-called innovation change how workers perform their jobs for hundreds of years.
• , that we can teach the farm worker a lot about this technology, and we're not...

Summary: The Assembly Transportation Committee heard a series of bills focused on transportation safety, climate resilience, wildlife connectivity, parking enforcement, and EV charging reliability. AB 605 would create a pilot program allowing certain hydrogen internal combustion cargo-handling equipment at ports; supporters said it could help ports stay competitive while reducing emissions, while South Coast AQMD raised concerns about possible nitrogen oxide emissions and limits on future regulation. The bill passed on an 11-0 vote to the Natural Resources Committee. AB 1132 would require Caltrans to incorporate community resilience indicators, including socioeconomic factors, into climate vulnerability assessments; supporters from Greenlining, AARP, and others said it would better protect seniors, people with disabilities, and transit users during heat waves and disasters, while some members questioned the cost during a tight budget year. It passed 9-0 to Appropriations, with some members not voting. AB 382 would lower school-zone speed limits to 20 mph and give local agencies more flexibility in how the limit is posted and enforced; supporters cited child pedestrian deaths and safety research, and the bill passed 11-0 to Appropriations. AB 902, as amended, would require transportation projects in wildlife connectivity areas to include wildlife passage features where feasible; supporters emphasized reduced collisions and habitat fragmentation, while the California Building Industry Association and COGs moved from opposition to neutral after amendments. It passed 9-1 to Local Government. AB 1014 would give Caltrans more discretion to lower speed limits on state highways based on local conditions rather than the 85th percentile rule; supporters said it would improve safety in rural and tourist areas, and the bill passed 13-0 to Appropriations. AB 1022 would end towing or booting vehicles solely for unpaid parking tickets, with supporters describing the practice as punitive and harmful to low-income drivers, while cities and parking groups argued it would weaken enforcement and create problems for out-of-state vehicles. The bill passed 9-3 to Appropriations. AB 1423 would require publicly funded EV chargers to meet reliability standards and allow enforcement of uptime requirements; supporters said taxpayers need functioning chargers, while charging-industry opponents objected to retroactive standards and possible conflicts with existing agreements. The bill passed 14-0 to Utilities and Energy. The committee also approved a consent calendar of five bills by voice vote and held roll calls open for additional members to add on.

Transcript Highlights:

• It's agricultural workers.
• It's agricultural workers.
• It's agricultural workers.
• It's agricultural workers.
• It's agricultural workers.

Summary: The committee heard testimony on House File 16, and the chair moved the bill with a recommendation that it be re-referred to Elections Finance and Government Operations. Representative Rymer said the bill would require reporting to ICE when an illegal immigrant is arrested on suspicion of a violent crime, even if the county attorney does not prosecute, and would bar state and local entities from blocking federal immigration enforcement. He described the bill as narrowly focused on serious offenses such as murder, assault, robbery, kidnapping, and criminal sexual conduct, and said it was intended to improve communication with federal authorities about dangerous offenders. Supporters argued the bill would improve public safety and cooperation with federal law enforcement. David Zimmer, a former local law enforcement official, said cooperation with ICE is consistent with law enforcement practice and helps with information-sharing, warrants, consulate notifications, and locating individuals. Several other supporters, including a crime victim family member and a security officer, said the bill would help identify dangerous criminals and protect communities. Opponents said the bill would reduce trust in local law enforcement and discourage victims and witnesses from reporting crimes. Testifiers from the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, The Advocates for Human Rights, Violence Free Minnesota, the Minnesota Council on Latino Affairs, the Northstar Alliance, the City of Minneapolis, and others said mandatory ICE notification could deter domestic violence and trafficking victims from seeking help, harm due process, and undermine community safety. Some also warned it would interfere with local separation policies, burden local agencies, and have negative economic and civil rights impacts. The committee also heard emotional testimony from individuals describing domestic abuse and immigration-related fears, and from family members of a murder victim who supported the bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> and what that represents to workers and what that represents to workers across<00:47:55.280><c>
• </c> paid, whether or not the proper workers paid, whether or not the proper workers compensation<00:
• We try to get some sort of workers.
• And you sit down and you talk with that worker and maybe that worker says, “Here are names of two other
• says, "Here are names of two worker says, "Here are names of two other<01:05:07.400><c> workers,</c>

Summary: The conference committee took testimony on Senate File 3051, which would allow law enforcement to release unredacted collision crash investigation video and related data to certain requesters, rather than requiring redaction first. Joel Carlson, speaking for the Minnesota Association for Justice, said the bill is intended to save local governments time and money because redacted video is often later released unredacted through court motions anyway. He emphasized that the proposal is limited to people already entitled to crash reports, requires a written request and accident report, does not create an affirmative duty to release data, and preserves law enforcement’s ability to withhold data for active investigations or other protected information. He also cited the Burks decision as support for the view that a subject of data is entitled to the full data even if it includes other subjects. Colonel Christina Bogavich of the Minnesota State Patrol raised concerns that the bill would still require staff to review videos for exceptions, including private data involving bystanders, juveniles, undercover officers, CAD information, and other protected material, so it would not create the claimed time savings. She also said the bill expands the number of potential requesters and lacks a liability provision if released data is improperly disseminated. Committee members and staff discussed the current Data Practices Act, including that private data can still be discoverable in litigation through a court balancing test and that protective orders may apply. A preliminary fiscal note estimated a Department of Public Safety cost of $4,026,334 annually, and members requested copies of the note. Members questioned whether the bill would actually reduce work or simply shift when the work occurs, and whether a litigation-specific exception to redaction should be added. Carlson said he was open to changes, including making release permissive rather than mandatory and strengthening the use restrictions, while members noted the proposal had not yet been heard in the House and would need more vetting. No vote or final action was taken on the provision during this discussion.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><01:24:52.480><c> Mr</c> ensure dignity for their workers Mr ensure dignity for their workers Mr
• That produces the next generation of workers for Minnesota's economy.
• Paul, and I am a union organizer and a home care worker.
• Our union represents over 55,000 health care workers around the state.
• America is the only country with no paid leave for workers.

Committee: House Workforce, Labor, and Economic Development Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• They're all publicly facing workers, frontline workers, and they're exposed to risks.
• </c><00:02:18.080><c> So,</c> all transit workers. So, all transit workers.
• 03:18.240><c> workers,</c> facing workers, frontline workers, facing workers, frontline workers, uh<00
• And thank you for the workers.
• Thank you. primary workers at the time. But now, as primary workers at the time.

Committee: Senate Transportation

Transcript Highlights:

• We represent thousands of skilled workers across California.
• Our state has some of the strongest contractor licensing and worker safety requirements in the nation
• involving unstable structures, hazardous material, contaminated debris, and significant risks to workers
• To OE3, this issue starts with worker safety.
• When properly trained and licensed contractors perform debris removal, workers are better protected from

Summary: The Assembly Emergency Management Committee met late in the evening and first approved a consent calendar containing SB 837, SB 894, SB 973, and SB 1079, sending those bills to the Committee on Appropriations. The committee then heard SB 904, which would codify coordinated state response and permitting review efforts for wildfire recovery, and SB 1263, which would limit post-disaster debris removal work to properly licensed contractors with required hazardous-materials training. Both bills drew support from the authors and industry/public-safety witnesses, with SB 1263 also drawing an opposed-unless-amended position from contractors who said they were working toward agreement on final language. Both measures passed to Appropriations on unanimous or near-unanimous votes. The committee next heard SB 804, the Hydrogen Pipeline Safety Act, which would designate the State Fire Marshal as the safety regulator for interstate hydrogen pipelines and require hydrogen-specific safety standards. The author and supporters from building trades and pipe trades argued the bill would provide clear safety rules before hydrogen infrastructure expands, while one industry witness said the correct agency had been identified but that some concerns remained. The bill passed as amended to Appropriations, with Assemblymember DeMaio voting no. Finally, the committee considered SB 883, which would impose additional oversight on facilities storing methyl methacrylate and other reactive chemicals after a recent Orange County evacuation tied to a potential explosion risk. Supporters, including community, environmental, and public-health groups, said the bill would improve transparency, emergency planning, and safety protections near homes and schools. Chemical and manufacturing groups opposed the bill in its current form, citing undefined terms, concerns about mandated cooling systems, and possible conflicts with existing regulatory frameworks, but said they were willing to continue working on the measure. The bill passed to the Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials on a 4-2 vote, with Assemblymembers Hadwick and DeMaio voting no.

Transcript Highlights:

• capacity of private-sector nonprofits and nonprofits to recruit, hire, train, and retain disabled workers
• capacity of private sector nonprofits and nonprofits to recruit higher, train and retain disabled workers
• Most recently, Alaska actually established a workers' compensation stay-at-work program and a workers
• So really great opportunities to keep workers at work.
• Employers also need practical tools to recruit, hire, and retain workers with disabilities.

Summary: The Disability Employment Subcommittee met with roll call, approved prior meeting minutes, and shared an inspirational quote from Jane Goodall about the importance of every individual. Members then introduced themselves and their roles, including state disability advocates, providers, and commission members, before hearing a presentation from Katia Alpanis and Dina Klumkina of the State Exchange on Employment and Disability (SEED). SEED described its role as a technical assistance and policy resource for states, focused on sharing best practices and examples from other states to expand employment opportunities for people with disabilities. The presentation outlined SEED’s seven policy areas: career readiness and work-based learning, behavioral health and work, stay-at-work/return-to-work supports, employer recruitment and retention tools, entrepreneurship and disability-owned business development, interagency coordination, and state government as a model employer. Examples from other states included scholarship and transition supports in Kentucky and Virginia, stay-at-work programs in Alaska and Washington, accommodation funds in Minnesota, procurement and small business initiatives in New Jersey and Virginia, and model employer efforts in Colorado, New York, and Tennessee. Members also asked about digital accessibility and PEAT; SEED said PEAT has been refunded and that SEED can help with policy-level questions and peer examples, but not implementation of accessibility requirements. Discussion then shifted to possible Massachusetts projects. Members raised concerns about upcoming Medicaid work or civic engagement requirements and how people with disabilities might fall through the cracks, and they asked whether SEED could help Massachusetts use existing documentation, such as IEPs, to reduce barriers. The group identified two main areas for follow-up: a Massachusetts “state as a model employer” roadmap and a youth/young adult employment and volunteer pipeline, potentially linked to transition services and apprenticeship opportunities. SEED agreed to provide Massachusetts-specific analysis and two briefs, one on career readiness policies and one on state-as-model-employer strategies, and the subcommittee planned an offline follow-up meeting to narrow priorities and develop a scope of work.

Transcript Highlights:

• and from the counties, we were all able to see a demonstration of the MAXIS system, and a county worker
• and from the counties, we were all able to see a demonstration of the MAXIS system, and a county worker
• And it really struck me that the worker she told us that it can take people over a year, maybe 2 years
• So, it really affects both, you know, Minnesotans who want to access the benefits and the workers.
• </c> benefits and and the workers. benefits and and the workers.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><02:43:02.800><c> who</c> protect the full range of workers who protect the full range of workers
• </c><02:45:31.040><c> is</c> workers and then then what a worker is workers and then then what a worker
• a transit worker is one assault too many.
• The frontline workers out on the transit system, which includes the TRIP agents, our facility workers
• ,</c> of uh transit officers, what workers, of uh transit officers, what workers, whatever<02:52:02.960

Committee: Senate Judiciary and Public Safety

Transcript Highlights:

• Members, access to health care for workers is a priority for this Members, access to health care for
• workers is a priority for this legislature.
• Prior to taking office in Springfield, he worked as an iron worker, giving him clear insight into the
• Prior to taking office in Springfield, he worked as an iron worker, giving him clear insight into the
• These outdated rates create a loophole that some bad actors are exploiting to underpay workers, lower

Summary: The Assembly convened, established a quorum, offered a prayer and Pledge of Allegiance, and then took up a long third-reading file with several guest introductions and ceremonial resolutions. Early floor action included AB 713, allowing undocumented students equal access to campus jobs at UC, CSU, and community colleges, and AB 1049, streamlining California Food Assistance Program applications for low-income immigrant families; both passed. The body also defeated an amendment to AB 1421, a bill to begin studying a statewide mileage-based road user charge, before passing the measure. AB 1171, modernizing part-time community college faculty health insurance access, also passed with strong support. The Assembly then approved a series of policy bills on animals, domestic violence, telehealth for autism services, forestry, false lien filings, tianeptine restrictions, housing, common interest development fee transparency, prison sexual abuse accountability, PBM reporting, foster youth benefits protections, illegal dumping and abandoned RV removal, condo financing/liquidated damages, public contracting, pension-related study language, climate resiliency research funding, and a disposable vape reduction measure. Most passed with broad margins; AB 762 on vapor inhalation devices drew the most debate, with supporters emphasizing landfill fires and public health and opponents warning about revenue losses and illicit-market growth, but it still passed. AB 1406 on condo development financing drew extensive discussion about housing affordability and consumer protections before passing. The chamber also adopted three resolutions: ACR 120 declaring January 2026 Positive Parenting Awareness Month, ACR 121 designating January 2026 National Mentoring Month, and ACR 122 designating Anesthesiologist Week. Later, the Assembly concurred in Senate amendments on AB 1485, extending welfare-tax exemption treatment to federally recognized tribes holding land for conservation, and adopted the consent calendar, which included several additional bills and SCR 6. The session ended with adjournment until February 2, 2016, after which several members recorded vote changes from the floor.

Transcript Highlights:

• Members, access to health care for workers is a priority for this Members, access to health care for
• workers is a priority for this Legislature.
• Prior to taking office in Springfield, he worked as an iron worker, giving him clear insight into the
• These outdated rates create a loophole that some bad actors are exploiting to underpay workers, lower
• As workers fear retaliation or job loss if they speak up.

Transcript Highlights:

• As you are aware, California transit workers are essential.
• This is to fully protect workers and prevent repeat offenses.
• This is to fully protect workers and prevent repeat offenses.
• And I know there was mentioning of social workers and follow-up.
• Everybody in this room knows during COVID there was a shutdown of social workers.

Summary: The Assembly Public Safety Committee met to consider several bills, with six measures approved on consent, including bills on background checks, female offender prison facilities, a juvenile justice hunger survey, protective orders and firearms, a youth offender camp pilot, and peace officer behavioral health training. AB 710 and AB 848 were pulled by the authors. The committee also took up AB 458, AB 394, AB 1094, AB 1092, and AB 1036, with extensive testimony on each. AB 458, by Assembly Member Stephanie, would require state agencies purchasing firearms, ammunition, or accessories to vet vendors for compliance with firearms laws and procurement standards. Supporters, including Brady and the California Police Chiefs Association, said taxpayer funds should not go to dealers with serious violations; opponents argued the bill added burdens and vague standards. The committee approved the bill as amended and sent it to Appropriations. AB 394, by Assembly Member Wilson, would expand protections for transit workers and riders by broadening enhanced battery penalties, clarifying who may seek temporary restraining orders in the transit context, and making those orders system-wide. Transit agencies, labor groups, and law enforcement supported the bill, while public defender and civil liberties groups raised concerns about vagueness, duration, and impacts on access to transit. The committee passed AB 394 to Judiciary as amended. AB 1094, by Assembly Member Baines, would raise the minimum parole eligibility term for child torture convictions involving a child under 14 in the perpetrator’s care or custody from seven years to 20 years. Prosecutors, sheriffs, and police groups supported the bill, citing the severity of the abuse and the need to protect child victims; opponents argued the parole system already screens for risk and that harsher sentences do not improve public safety. The committee approved the bill as amended to Appropriations. AB 1092, by Assembly Member Castillo, would extend concealed carry weapon license renewals from two years to four years; supporters said it would reduce costs and administrative burdens, while the chair and others opposed it as unnecessary. The committee ultimately voted the bill down. AB 1036, by Assembly Member Schultz, would expand post-conviction discovery access for people convicted of felonies with sentences of one year or more, including Brady materials and jury selection notes. Innocence organizations and defense groups supported it, while district attorneys opposed the broader discovery obligations; the committee passed it to Appropriations as amended.

Transcript Highlights:

• This is a little over 1% of the workers.
• This is a little over 1% of the workers.
• This is a little over 1% of the workers.
• I'd like to remind on 50,000 workers.
• The micro businesses like mine workers.

Committee: Senate Rules and Administration

Transcript Highlights:

• do some research and make some really formal recommendations about a program called Medicaid for Workers
• If you're not familiar, in 2009, the legislature established Medicaid for Workers with Disabilities to
• If you're not familiar, in 2009, the legislature established Medicaid for Workers with Disabilities to
• And what's happened, Workers to work beyond age 65.
• And the bill language, it was derived from factual information about what the Medicaid for Workers with

Committee: Senate Health and Welfare